A Day Trip
by theypreferthetermpeople
Summary: Lena tries to romance Stef with a Saturday getaway. Unfortunately, she underestimates her own skills, and the plan falls apart. Still, our two favorite ladies find connection, humor, and love in the unlikeliest of places.
1. Chapter 1

"Lena? Honey?" At the sound of her wife's frazzled voice, Lena looked up from the saucepan on the stove and smiled.

"Hey," she said, setting the wooden spoon down on the counter and going to embrace Stef. With a quick kiss she inquired, "How was your day?"

"Oh, you know," Stef replied, shaking her head and exhaling heavily through her nose. She rolled her neck side to side until it cracked. "We interviewed a girl who'd been picked up for the third time and finally decided she was willing to talk, only to have her clam up when Margo and I got there. Ended up getting a whole lot of nothing for our trouble."

Lena gave her wife another kiss, unable to offer any real comfort. Though detective work was safer, physically, it took quite the toll on Stef emotionally to see so many abused girls day after day, especially when she ended up feeling like she couldn't do anything to help them. Lena would rather die that see her back on the beat, but she knew this life wasn't sustainable long-term either.

"Dinner's almost ready," she said finally. "If you want to go up and change and wash up, I can finish this sauce and have food on the table in about ten."

"Okay." Stef kissed her one last time, letting some of her tension and distress out in the embrace. The moment hung in the air, their faces resting together as Lena moved her hand slowly up and down Stef's back.

"Mama, can I- Oh." Jude stopped abruptly on the stairs, and the two women broke apart. "Sorry," he mumbled, starting to turn around, his face aflame.

"It's okay, buddy," Lena said, pinching back a smirk. "What do you need?"

"I was just wondering if I could go to Noah's for dinner and to hang out." Then, seeing his moms exchange a look, he hastened to add, "His parents are home and I'm done with my homework and they can give me a ride there and back and I'll be home before curfew, I swear."

Lena quirked an eyebrow at Stef, who nodded her assent, winking at their youngest son. "Sure sweets," she said, ruffling his hair and giving him a smacking kiss on the cheek as she passed on her way upstairs to change.

"Moom!" Jude complained, looking petulantly up at her (though he didn't wipe off the kiss, as both moms noticed). With a thoroughly teenage roll of his eyes, he whirled around and pulled out his phone, ostensibly texting his boyfriend.

Lena went back to the cooking, smiling softly at how incredibly settled Jude was. It always made her feel warm inside to hear him call them Mom and Mama, and it was reassuring that he was continuing to develop social connections. Even his dating made her happy, though there were the usual pangs of losing her baby to adulthood too soon. Before long, though, she found herself ruminating on the lines in Stef's face, which seemed deeper every day when she arrived home from work. Not that Lena's job was a walk in the park by any means, especially with this privatization battle going on, but Stef's tender heart was clearly taking a beating in this new position, and her partner could feel the effects. Maybe what Stef needed was a little getaway, something to relax and rejuvenate her. As she flipped the meat and stirred the sauce she pondered her options. Nothing too expensive, since that would only stress Stef out more. Nothing too elaborate for the same reason. Kid-free, that was a no brainer. As she finally placed the food on the table, an idea crystallized, and a grin tiptoed across her face.

"What's that smirk about?" Stef asked, coming into the kitchen and pulling the pitcher of water out of the fridge.

"Oh, nothing," Lena replied with a teasing shrug. "Kids, dinner's ready!" she called up the stairs.

"Vixen," Stef commented, giving her a little pat on the butt. It was clear that Lena was up to something. Pretty soon, though, their children flooded the kitchen and any chance for playful banter was cut off by the news of the day: Mariana breaking the curve in math class, Callie's latest assignment for her portfolio, Brandon's burger mishap of the afternoon.

* * *

Later that evening Stef came into her bedroom from her final rounds for the night to find her wife typing busily away on the laptop in bed. She shook her head as she closed their door and subtly locked it. Or not so subtly, apparently, because Lena looked up from her work.

"You think you're getting laid tonight, huh?" she teased, nodding towards the door. Stef blushed.

"Well, I- I thought- While you were cooking, you- I-" Stef stuttered, tripping over her tongue as she moved across the room.

"Get over here, woman," Lena deadpanned, setting the computer aside. That was all the invitation Stef needed to fall into bed beside her partner and wrap her up in an intense kiss. Before too long, though, Lena was pulling away.

"Put your pajamas on. We've got an early start tomorrow."

"What?" Stef propped herself up on one elbow, looking quizzically at her. "Tomorrow's Saturday."

"Exactly," Lena replied with a mischievous smile. "The kids are busy all day and you and I have big plans, missy."

"Is that so?"

"Mhm. But it's a surprise, so don't bother pushing. Now go get ready for bed," she ordered, pushing Stef towards the edge of the mattress. Sighing, her wife did as she was told, sliding onto her feet and going into their bathroom to brush her teeth.

Stef made one last attempt at romance for the night, dropping her day clothes as seductively as possible, but Lena had rolled over and turned off the lamp, refusing to give in to her tricks. With a little chuckle, Stef put her pajamas on and climbed into bed, wondering what her partner could possibly have in store for her.


	2. Chapter 2

Lena's alarm rang at 6:30 the following morning, rousing Stef from her otherwise restful sleep. Stef rolled over and was surprised to find an empty, neatly made bed beside her, the sunlight streaming in through open curtains. Hitting the off button on the alarm, she noticed the time, and quelled the urge to shout.

"Lena?" She waited a beat and then, hearing no reply, rubbed her eyes and hauled herself out of bed. As she found her footing on the carpet, her bedroom door opened slowly. "Lena?" Her wife entered carrying a tray.

"Good morning sunshine," she said in a very uncharacteristic way, pushing the door closed behind her with her foot. "I've got coffee, eggs, and bacon for you here, and then it's time to get on the road." Stef, lost for words for the first time in her life, sat back down on the bed and accepted the offering.

"Why is it so early?" she finally managed in a cracking voice, quickly followed by a sip of coffee.

"The early bird gets the worm, you know," Lena informed her seriously.

"I'd rather stick to bacon," Stef wisecracked back, waving a piece of it.

"Just finish up and get dressed. I've got more coffee for in the car."

"Lena, where are we going? It's six am and I'm not up to games right now." She swallowed another gulp of coffee to prove it.

"It's a surprise, but I promise it'll be worth it, okay?" Lena leaned down and gave her a kiss, a slow, long, sweet kiss that was ready to build to something more right before she took her lips away. "I promise," she whispered, just inches from Stef's face. Stef shook her head, but she was powerless against her wife's charms.

* * *

Stef had dressed according to Lena's instructions in jeans ("the ones I love your butt in"), a flannel button-down, and walking boots. She climbed into the passenger seat of the car with no idea what was in store. Lena, meanwhile, was trying to verify that they had all the gear they needed before heading out. After her third time through the checklist in the trunk, she finally came up and put the key in the ignition.

"Hey," Stef said, catching her hand as she went to shift into reverse. "I love you."

"I love you too," Lena replied with a smile, turning to kiss her wife.

"So where are we going?" Stef asked with a sly grin.

"Hold your horses," Lena laughed, twisting around to check behind before she backed out of the driveway.

Out on the highway, she finally revealed the secret.

"Remember that pond you always went to with your dad? Outside the city in that little grove?"

Stef's eyes widened. "The fishing pond?" she clarified. "Lena, there's no way you're taking me there." She shook her head in amusement. Her partner was never one for fishing, as she saw it in the same line as hunting and anything else that hurt 'poor, defenseless animals.' Stef herself wasn't a hunter, but her father had taught her to fish and she loved the peaceful connection the sport provided them.

Lena shrugged. "You love to fish, and I love to make you happy," she said simply.

Stef felt a tear come to her eye at that. "You're a sap," she teased, but the squeeze and kiss she gave to Lena's hand was earnest.

* * *

Arrival at the pond was a bittersweet event, as Stef remembered pulling into this same dirt lot in her dad's rusty truck. Lena parked and they sat there for a moment in silence, holding hands, Lena holding space for Stef's grief. Eventually, though, Lena pulled away and climbed out of the car. She withdrew two fishing poles, a tackle box, and a yogurt container from the trunk and went around to Stef's side of the car.

"Honey, if you don't want to do this, we can go home. We could go somewhere else. We don't have to-" But Stef interrupted her.

"I can't believe you needed a checklist to remember three items." She winked, taking the yogurt container from under Lena's arm. "Is this bait?" She peeled the container open to see two dozen wiggling worms.

"I dug them up in the backyard this morning," Lena explained.

The two women walked down the path to the bridge where Stef and Frank had always fished from. Stef threaded a worm onto one of the hooks and handed the pole to Lena, who to her credit looked only faintly nauseated. She baited the second hook and cast, sighing with contentment at the gentle plop made when her bobber hit the water.

"Well?" she said, turning to Lena with one eyebrow raised. "You gonna cast or you gonna be a bump on a log?"

Raising her chin defiantly, Lena held up the pole. She screwed up her brow and flicked the pole over her shoulder and back again quickly, trying to imitate her partner's movements from moments before. The hook, however, caught the bridge rail behind her and all the tugging in the world wouldn't return it to her vision. Stef stifled her giggles as she reached over with one hand and freed the hook, guiding it back in front of them.

"I can do it," Lena said insistently. "That one was just a little... loose."

"Uh huh," Stef replied, biting her lip to quench her smile.

Lena tried again, this time flicking the hook so near to Stef's ear that she ducked in fear.

"Okay, honey, you _never_ swing a sharp object around like that."

"I just lost control for a second," Lena protested, and this time she grabbed the hook in her hand and threw it bodily out into the water, where it landed with a splash. "There!" she said triumphantly, and Stef could only roll her eyes and chuckle.

They stood leaning against the wooden railing for several minutes, the sun hitting their faces gently, before anything happened. It was Lena's bobber that was flitting about in the water, and from the look of shock on her face, she was feeling the pull on the hook.

"Reel it in!" Stef said excitedly, but Lena did not heed this advice. Instead she opened her hands wide like a starfish and the pole slipped over the edge of the bridge, splashing in the water. With a gasp, Lena clapped her hands to her face.


	3. Chapter 3

"Lena!" Stef gasped, a giggle bubbling up through her throat. "Your pole!"

"It startled me!" Lena protested, peeking out from behind her hands in embarrassment. Her wife shook her head and handed her own pole to her.

"Hold this. I'll get it." And laying down on the bridge, she stretched over the edge and reached for the pole, which had sunk rapidly. Unable to see it, much less reach it, she got up, went around the bridge, waded into the water, and pulled it out, soaking her jeans up to the knee in the process. Luckily the dark river didn't have much of a current right there at the edge of the pond, and the rod had stayed in the same place. She passed it up over the railing to Lena, who looked a mixture of frustrated and abashed.

"You're lucky you're cute," Stef teased as she made her way back onto the bridge, shaking her feet one after another to release at least a little of the captured water.

"Maybe you'll have to show me how to do it," Lena said, trying her best to sound sexy as she held out the waterlogged fishing pole. Stef raised both her eyebrows, her lips quirking up into a bemused smirk. "How do I hold it?" Lena added, shrugging with as much fake ignorance as she could muster. Shaking her head, Stef stepped up behind Lena and put her arms around.

"Here, put your left hand down here, and your right..." She carefully placed her wife's hands on the fishing rod, and then paused. "Lena Elizabeth Adams Foster, you are trying to make me a character in a pornographic film!"

Lena shrugged, turning over her left shoulder to wink at her wife. "But it's working," she responded saucily, before craning to plant a firm kiss on Stef's lips. Stef shook her head but kissed her back, still standing behind her, arms around and holding the fishing pole in position.

"Oh yes it is," she mumbled back, moving to kiss Lena's smooth neck, scraping her teeth lightly over the sinewy tissue. Lena let out a shallow breath as her shoulders tensed, excited by the tender touch. "You like that?" Stef murmured in between kisses, eventually latching on and sucking gently on her wife's neck.

"Nothing the kids can see," Lena warned, reaching up to cover her skin, pushing Stef aside.

"You're the one who took me out on a romantic day trip..." Stef pointed out, eyebrows raised.

"And we can be plenty romantic without leaving marks," Lena insisted, running her hand along Stef's arm and squeezing slightly. "'Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints,'" she quoted, holding up one finger as though giving a lecture.

"Oh, you wanna take pictures, huh?" Stef replied devilishly. "I'll give you something to take a picture of." Dropping the fishing poles onto the boardwalk at their feet, she turned Lena around in her arms and kissed her strongly, allowing herself to get lost in the embrace.

Lena's hands, which had been cupping her chin, slid down Stef's body to caress her chest, then moved quickly down to her waistband, where Lena slid her fingers just slightly under the blue jeans and ran her other hand down the small of Stef's back. Stef exhaled shakily, allowing Lena to kiss her way down her neck while she stroked her back under her flannel.

"You want to?" Lena asked, lingering on the button of Stef's jeans. Stef hesitated. On the one hand, hell yes she wanted to. It was a sunny day and her wife was beautiful and they were blissfully, blissfully alone. On the other hand, they were at a public park, and she wasn't exactly an exhibitionist, even if no one else was around. Lena, sensing her fears, moved closer. "It's just us, babe. And I want you."

Stef looked into Lena's eyes, which were small and intense in the bright light. She'd never really understood the idea of someone's eyes being "bright with desire," but if eyes could be desirous, Lena's certainly were. And her own breath was coming short and hot in the space between their bodies, her heartbeat thudding strong in every single cell. "I want you too," she whispered, leaning in for another kiss. Lena unzipped her pants and continued her gentle, teasing exploration as they kissed more fervently. And for the first time in a long time, Stef wasn't thinking.


End file.
